The Future of Consumerist

Over the last twelve years, Consumerist has been a steadfast proponent and voice on behalf of consumers, from exposing shady practices by secretive cable companies to pushing for action against dodgy payday lenders. Now, we’re joining forces with Consumer Reports, our parent organization, to cultivate the next generation of consumer advocacy.

Stay tuned as Consumerist’s current and future content finds its home as a part of the Consumer Reports brand. In the meantime, you can access existing Consumerist content below, and we encourage you to visit Consumer Reports to read the latest consumer news.

The venerable Wall Street Journalrecently discovered the classic “EECB” technique we’ve been telling you about for years. This time, it’s health insurance companies, an industry so predicated on denial-of-care-for-profit that a few years ago a class action lawsuit based on RICO statute, invented to prosecute Mafia families for racketeering, was able to make significant headway. Lucky for you, email is much faster than the wheels of justice…

Billy Rogers of Dallas says he struggled for months last year to get Anthem Blue Cross & Blue Shield to process bills of around $1,350 from doctor visits. The holdup came because the company was investigating whether Mr. Rogers fully disclosed his medical condition when he bought his policy, he says. The 47-year-old political consultant says he was healthy, though one check after he was insured showed somewhat elevated blood sugar that he says quickly dropped in later tests.

Fed up, Mr. Rogers fired off an email with the subject line “Horrible Anthem Coverage.” It went to Chief Executive Angela Braly and a public-relations official at Anthem parent WellPoint Inc. He also sent it to several reporters and documentary filmmaker Michael Moore. Within hours, Mr. Rogers says, he got an email from the WellPoint spokesman, and days later the claim went through. The tactic “sends a signal that you’re not going to give up on this,” says Mr. Rogers. “I was really, really angry.”

Want to send an EECB to a health insurance company? First, have a valid claim. Then, document the heck out of your issue and come up with really good reasons to support your argument. Then exhaust normal customer service options. Once those fail, it’s time to send an EECB using these tips.